martomlin

1) "Name?"

Marissa Green

2) "Age?"

18 (19 on the 24th of April!)

(OMG We are birthday buddies!!!)

3)" What are your hobbies?"

Outside of writing, I love reading, needlework, watching films, and baking!

4) "When did you start writing and why?"

I started writing seriously in about 5th grade. I never found myself particularly passionate about writing, though I loved reading. Then one day, I wrote a poem and received praise for it. It was so foreign to me at the time and I spent a lot of my time from then on out writing, writing, writing!

5) "Which was your first story generally?"

I was (still am) obsessed with One Direction and was a Louis girl through-and-through. However, the first story I wrote was actually a random Liam fan fiction that generally had no storyline. It was kind of like a soap opera where there were all these mini-dramas every few chapters that were resolved almost immediately.

6) "Do you write in some other website except Wattpad?"

I recently was accepted to write on Radish! My username is marissa.green and my story is entitled "Lilac Summers". It's Dead Flowers with different names and dates, basically. And written a bit better!

7) "What has given you motive to keep on writing?"

I feel really motivated by images and sounds. I draw a lot of inspiration from films and music, most notably Ain't Them Bodies Saints (film) and a lot of Rolling Stones/Harry Styles songs.

8 )"Have you ever wanted to give up everything? (writing I mean)"

I have--many times. Writing is never easy and in my opinion, if you think it's easy, you're not working hard enough. I frequently look back on my freshman year in high school when I was deciding between pursuing a writing career or teaching career, as I'm very passionate about children. I was so tired of the advice everyone gave me when I told them my choices. "Write children's books!" "Writing will probably just be a hobby." But then I met an old woman named Eleanor through a program in my school. She was a retired English teacher. Our project was to interview them and then write a memoir-like essay for them. When I told her of my choices, she smiled, looked down at what I wrote her and then immediately said, "You're a writer."

9) "Which is your favorite story on Wattpad?"

My favorite story on Wattpad has got to be I Sleep Naked by uniquelyxlarry or Fine China by yumharryy. They're so intricate and heartfelt.

10) "Have you gained any friendship from Wattpad? If yes, which are your Wattpad friends?"

I used to be much more social and active on here and had a very best friend named akinoreV0707. I also love hastagraura!

11) "Do you relate with any of your characters from your books? If yes, which one and which characteristics are similar?"

Jane is truly like my child. She is my most-developed, three-dimensional, dynamic character. I relate with her struggle to be independent but also wanting to be loved deeply. I also loosely based her physical appearance on myself.

12) "What did you study /are you studying/do you want to study?"

I'm currently studying journalism at the number one journalism school in the country!

13)" Describe yourself in 3 words."

Defiant, passionate, creative.

14) "What do you advise new writers?"

I advise new writers to try and pull inspiration from as many forms of media as possible, Never take passion for granted. Do whatever it takes to make that story the best it can be.

15)" Questions based on ' Dead Flowers" : How were you inspired to write this story?"

This story has been written and rewritten over the course of probably six years. It's taken a lot of trial and error to land in its current spot and even that is not permanent. I was initially inspired to revamp the story and set it in the 70s by listening to Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones. That song will never not be sick. It speaks directly to the decade and is so full of nostolgic, echo-y emotion.

16)" Who's your favourite character in the book and why? "

My favorite character is definitely Harry. I mean, how could it not be? The kind of communication. Harry is actually based on my actual boyfriend. I was blown away by my boyfriend's kindness, communication skills, and emotional intelligence whenever we started dating. I translated a lot of that to Harry.

17)" How did it feel ending the book?"

I was actually kind of sad ending the book! I've literally spent six years tweaking this plot and developing these characters and will probably continue doing that for the remainder of my life as a writer.

18)"If you were asked to publish your book , would you do it?"

In a heartbeat. But I would never sign away the rights to my story and characters. And, of course, with the just amount of compensation.

19)"Which is your favourite a) funny, b) dramatic, c) romantic, d) sad scene in the book?"

A. I think almost every scene with Winnie (in the first five chapter, whoops!) is a good balance of humorous and dramatic. I love Winnie. I think she's fabulous and I especially love all her interactions with Howard, specifically when she tells him to "sit on it".

B. My favorite dramatic scene in the book was probably when Anne confronts Jane about being pregnant. I really admire Anne's strength and resilience and how they go hand-in-hand with her kindness.

C. My favorite romantic scene is probably when Jane returns to Harry after being away for so long. Something about loving each other so much and knowing each other so well that you can just crawl into bed with them unannounced completely wordlessly and be welcomed is, like, nauseatingly beautiful to me.

The saddest scene in the book for me was definitely after the (T.W.!!!!) rape when Jane is still grappling at the experience and trying to find solid ground to stand on. I think the saddest part is when Anne sleeps over and it's the first time Jane feels safe since it happened. It not only shows that Jane is deeply emotionally distraught, but that she is so desperate for a mother-figure in her life. That scene directly spoke of Thelma and her viciousness.

20) " A phrase or a scene that you write and you'll never forget.(and why)"

I love the scene when Jane is in her bedroom after driving Winnie's thunderbird home and she witnesses Winnie and her new beau getting it on in the front seat. I think sex makes everything more interesting and can find little reason to not weave little snippets of it into everything that we do. I love the way that scene encompasses Jane's latent sexual awakening and religious innocence.

21) " How much time did it take to plan the whole plot? "

It probably took a good week to get a skeleton of the plot built, but I usually only use my plan as a general guideline. That's kind of silly of me because I plot my stories out extensively! You'd think I'd learn.

22)" How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?"

Oh, I've got about a dozen underdeveloped, half-written stories just waiting for their turn.

23) " After getting to New York and living the rest of their lives together what do you think that would always make Harry and Jane argue about ?"

I can see them arguing about children, whcih also happened in Dead Flowers. Jane is apprehensive to start a family because she is so scared of becoming her mother, which is totally reasonable. Harry was just born to be a father and it frustrates him that Jane doesn't see what a good mother she would be. I think what's so good about Jane and Harry is that they love each other so much that they never want to intentionally upset the other.

24) "Any spoilers for future plans?"

I am going to work my ass off this summer to finish this story and send it to as many publishers as possible.

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

1) " How do you cope with the whole coronavirus and quarantine?"

In all honesty, it is taking its toll! My life was certainly uprooted and flipped upside down. These days, I'm doing whatever I can to keep myself healthy and happy. I don't deny myself any pleasure, no matter how small it may be. Not great for my bank account, but excellent for my soul.

2) " Suggest to your readers three things to keep them busy during these difficult times the world has to go through."

Reading is always a fool-proof passtime, writing letters to your friends, and finding a new hobby is always exciting!

Thank you so much for your time martomlin!!! ❤❤

All the love,
M.